hi guys, just looking for some advice / reassurance,
its been 15 years since i last played, and i ran my first session last night, the last fight of the night was against 10 bandits straight out the book, the party at the time consisted of,
2 lvl 1 guards +1 str, 2 fighters, 1 mage, rogue and a wizard.
on paper when working out the CR it looked an easy fight, but i panicked and had 5 turn and run as city watch was closing in.
one of the reasons is because i was rolling exceptionally well. so i guess what i'm asking is, WAS that an easy fight and should i of let it played out.
1. Determine XP Thresholds 2. Determine the Party's XP Thresholds
You list 5 Player Characters, and from the fact this is your first game, I'm going to assume they are all 1st level.
EASY: 5 x 25 XP = 125 XP
MEDIUM: 5 x 50 XP = 250 XP
HARD: 5 x 75 XP = 375 XP
DEADLY: 5 x 100 XP = 500 XP
3. Total the Monster's XP
You had 10 bandit on one side and 2 guard on the other. According to their stats, each is worth 25 XP, so:
10 x 25 XP - 2 x 25 XP = 200 XP
At this point, it appears to be less than a Medium threshold fight, so should be Easy, right? Well, let's account for the fact that the bandits outnumbered the PCs.
4. Modify XP totals for multiple monsters
Whether you use the total number of bandits or the net number (in other words, cancelling one bandit out for each guard), you have between 7 and 10 opponents which gives a x2.5 mulitiplier.
200 XP x 2.5 XP = 500 XP
5. Compare XP
Comparing the adjusted XP to the calculated XP thresholds, your fight was bang on the Deadly level where, "a deadly encounter could be lethal for one or more player characters. Survival often requires good tactics and quick thinking, and the party risks defeat." And if the DM has some good rolls, Deadly encounters quickly live up to their name. So if this was the first fight for your players, you did the right thing in pulling a deus ex machina in bringing the city watch and having the rest of the bandits flee.
Now, there will be some who disagree with what I've stated and will suggest other methods of calculating how hard a combat will be. But, this is the "by the book" method and it says the fight was a little more than just an Easy fight.
wow. that was a greet reply, thank you for spending the time on this.
on this i'm glad i pulled them away, yes they are a 1st lvl party, i used the multiple monster guild 1-5 level chart, so in my assumption 10 bandits was a even fight.
bandit cr 1/8, lvl 1 character can handle 2 solo. that's what i was going on. i'll try it the way you described and see if that works out.
hi guys, just looking for some advice / reassurance,
its been 15 years since i last played, and i ran my first session last night, the last fight of the night was against 10 bandits straight out the book, the party at the time consisted of,
2 lvl 1 guards +1 str, 2 fighters, 1 mage, rogue and a wizard.
on paper when working out the CR it looked an easy fight, but i panicked and had 5 turn and run as city watch was closing in.
one of the reasons is because i was rolling exceptionally well. so i guess what i'm asking is, WAS that an easy fight and should i of let it played out.
Let's run the numbers according to the suggested protocol in the Basic Rules under Evaluating Encounter Difficulty.
1. Determine XP Thresholds
2. Determine the Party's XP Thresholds
You list 5 Player Characters, and from the fact this is your first game, I'm going to assume they are all 1st level.
3. Total the Monster's XP
You had 10 bandit on one side and 2 guard on the other. According to their stats, each is worth 25 XP, so:
At this point, it appears to be less than a Medium threshold fight, so should be Easy, right? Well, let's account for the fact that the bandits outnumbered the PCs.
4. Modify XP totals for multiple monsters
Whether you use the total number of bandits or the net number (in other words, cancelling one bandit out for each guard), you have between 7 and 10 opponents which gives a x2.5 mulitiplier.
5. Compare XP
Comparing the adjusted XP to the calculated XP thresholds, your fight was bang on the Deadly level where, "a deadly encounter could be lethal for one or more player characters. Survival often requires good tactics and quick thinking, and the party risks defeat." And if the DM has some good rolls, Deadly encounters quickly live up to their name. So if this was the first fight for your players, you did the right thing in pulling a deus ex machina in bringing the city watch and having the rest of the bandits flee.
Now, there will be some who disagree with what I've stated and will suggest other methods of calculating how hard a combat will be. But, this is the "by the book" method and it says the fight was a little more than just an Easy fight.
wow. that was a greet reply, thank you for spending the time on this.
on this i'm glad i pulled them away, yes they are a 1st lvl party, i used the multiple monster guild 1-5 level chart, so in my assumption 10 bandits was a even fight.
bandit cr 1/8, lvl 1 character can handle 2 solo. that's what i was going on. i'll try it the way you described and see if that works out.
thanks again Poliphas
There are a couple of websites to calculate encounter challenge for you. Kobold fight club is a popular one.
The encounter difficulty can be affected by other factors like strengths and weaknesses of party.
just had a look at this, its great thanks for that. =D